An integration of collaborative autobiography and peer supervision to improve instruction in adult education

Abstract:

This creative project used collaborative autobiography, where two teachers
shared their professional life histories, in order to identify individual agendas for
professional development, build mutual understanding and a trusting working
relationship. The common professional interests identified from these life stories
served as a basis for a professional development project which used peer supervision
as a means of improving the teaching of English to adult native students. This creative
project documents the project which involved the study of a play through dramatic
expression.
Chapter one of the creative project includes a literature review of collaborative
autobiography and peer supervision and presents an argument for the integration of
these two methods of teacher development. The second chapter describes the methods
and procedures of the collaborative creative project. Chapters three and four include
the two teachers life stories. The fifth chapter summarizes the professional concerns.
Chapter six includes a daily account of the collaborative project. The formal
evaluations of the drama unit are discussed in chapter seven. A summary of the peer
supervision activities is included in chapter eight. Chapter nine includes a detailed
analysis of the student and teacher responses to the summative evaluations. The
collaborative project is concluded with a summary in chapter ten.